Thompson's 12th Commandment
Don’t speak ill of them until they speak ill of me
By California Yankee Posted in 2008 — Comments (5) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Roger Simon asked Fred Thompson if he is an 11th Commandment man — Never speak ill of a fellow Republican — Fred responded:
I am more of a 12th Commandment man: Don’t speak ill of them until they speak ill of me. And then really speak ill of them.
Thompson is starting to go after fellow Republican candidates. His stump speech contains a not so subtle dig at Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney, warning that Republicans must “stay with our principles” when it comes to choosing a nominee.
Read on.
According to the Perry Bacon Jr., Thompson's new theme is a return to the revolution:
The newest GOP hopeful will emphasize his roots in the so-called Republican Revolution in 1994, when the party swept to power and took control of both houses of Congress for the first time in decades. Thompson was in the class of 1994 that handed the Clintons a major defeat with a message of small government. His aides will also emphasize that the same year Thompson was calling for taking power away from the federal government and shifting it to states, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was endorsing New York's Democratic Governor Mario Cuomo and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was moving left in his unsuccessful first foray into politics, when he ran against Ted Kennedy for the Senate. "It's only a fair question to ask every candidate in the race what were you fighting for in 1994," said Todd Harris, Thompson's communications director.
Fred should be cautious here. He was part of the 1994 Republican Revolution, but his most significant Senate achievement involved the passage of the so-called campaign finance reform. According to the New York Times, Thompson helped lay the groundwork as chairman of an inquiry into fund-raising abuses surrounding the 1996 election by investigating Republicans as well as Democrats, then championed the ill-advised McCain-Feingold legislation. Thompson's efforts were crucial to the passage of McCain-Feingold.
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Thompson's 12th Commandment 5 Comments (0 topical, 5 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
There is plenty to go around for all the candidates, including Thompson. The guy has some serious issues that at some point are going to come out.
www.mymanmitt.com
www.race42008.com
Member of Romney for President Faith and Values Steering Committee-an unpaid advisory position, that does not require an endorsement.
On his web site: http://fredfile.fred08.com/2007/remember-back-in-1994/
I know I've posted about this before, but I think it's a great strategy: he's appealing to us RedStaters on an emotional level (using phrases like Republican Revolution and Contract with America), but his theme of consistent conservatism also plays well logically/ideologically.
I just doubt he's been more consistent than anyone else. From tort reform and accepting huge amounts of money from trial lawyers, investigating National Right to life and the Heritage Foundation, arguing to remove the abortion plank on the Republican platform, voting for affirmative action, Campaign Finance, etc. The list goes on.
I am not saying my guy is perfect, just saying most of the hype for Fred is simply overstated. He really hasn't been anymore consistent or conservative than other candidates.
www.mymanmitt.com
www.race42008.com
Member of Romney for President Faith and Values Steering Committee-an unpaid advisory position, that does not require an endorsement.
While one might expect a few elbows in the upcoming weeks, this campaign has been pretty mild. At one level, I do hope they go after one another a bit more, since the GOP nominee is going to need to ready for the main event.
but otherwise I'd be happy to see the candidates work each other over a bit. If candidates have weaknesses, they are going to need to learn how to defend them, and nothing is a better teacher than live rounds. Lord knows Hillary isn't going to show any mercy.
Thompson needs to figure out what his position is on McCain-Feingold. I've heard at least two different things - that the whole thing was a noble failure, or that he still supports the ban on "soft" money but not on the third party advertising restrictions. Well, which is it? There are examples of this sort of thing on the resume of each of the major candidates. So my suggestion would be to get it all sorted out while we're among friends.